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Letter Causes Scare At Obama Campaign Office

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Oct 15, 2008 5:42 am US/Eastern

Letter Causes Scare At Obama Campaign Office

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― A threatening letter containing a suspicious powder forced evacuations at a Barack Obama campaign office in South Philadelphia Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, a letter with a suspicious powder was sent to an Obama-Biden field office in the 1500 block of Christian Street. The letter was apparently opened by a volunteer at the office.

"The letter was somewhat threatening in nature and it contained a substance that we believe to be a hazmat," Captain Mike Gillespie said shortly after the incident.

Police, fire and hazmat crews responded to the scene shortly after a 911 call was placed. As a precaution, 15 people inside the building were evacuated.

Investigators said initial field tests on the powder came back negative and it was determined to be sugar.

"We want to look over the letter through the plastic bag that we have it in to see what's actually being stated in the letter to the best of our knowledge and then determine the source," Captain Gillespie explained.

Sources said the letter did not reference the substance, but the envelope contained enough sugar that it appeared to be intentionally added to the threatening note to scare or disrupt Obama supporters.

Philadelphia Police and Postal Inspection Police were joined by the FBI and Secret Service in the investigation. The investigators will attempt to determine if the threatening note was directed at the volunteers or the candidates.





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